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“Your company hiring?” her mom asked Devin, her tone way too innocent. “Maybe in accounting department?”
Zoe glared at her.
“What?” Her mom put her hand over her chest. “I’m just asking.” She raised her brows. “Someone has to.”
Sure, sure. So helpful. Zoe clamped her mouth shut against the instinct to remind her mom that she’d been the one to push Zoe into accounting in the first place. Well, that or medicine or law, and accounting had definitely been the easiest option of those.
Zoe hadn’t exactly had a strong sense of what she wanted to do, but it wasn’t sit behind a desk crunching numbers all day. The fact that she hadn’t been able to find a job in the field was salt in the wound. Did her mom really need to remind her of it constantly?
“I’ll check, Mrs. Leung,” Devin promised. He cast Zoe a sympathetic glance, and she couldn’t decide if that was better or worse than him totally ignoring her.
Her mother cocked a brow, silently saying,See?
Zoe huffed out a breath.
Defusing things the way he always did, Han turned back to Devin. “Wehaveto celebrate.”
“The Junebug does two-for-one drinks before eight tonight,” Zoe blurted out. Self-consciousness stole over her as all eyes turned to her, but screw it. She doubled down. “Plus, you know.” She pointed her thumbs at her chest. “Employee discount.”
Han looked to Devin, brows raised.
“Sure,” Devin said slowly. He let his gaze fall on her for all of a second. There was that flare of heat again. But as fast as it had come, it disappeared as his eyes darted away. “Who doesn’t like cheap beer, right?”
“Right,” Zoe agreed. She smiled tightly.
Thanks to her entire freaking family showing up, this round of “Poke Devin Until He Cracks” was a stalemate.
But the good news was that she’d just earned herself another shot.
Chapter Three
So, how’s it feel?” Han asked. “Mr. Fancypants promotion.”
Devin shook his head. “I’m still having a pretty hard time believing it.”
After a brief stop at home to change, he’d met Han at the Junebug on Main Street for the cheap drinks Zoe had promised them. Add in some burgers and the owner Clay’s famous cheese fries, and this was basically Devin’s ideal night out. He snagged another stick of greasy goodness from the basket in front of him and popped it in his mouth. It tasted like victory.
And cheese.
But mostly victory. After years of careful planning, everything he’d been working for finally felt like it was within his grasp. Arthur’d taken the time to rerun the numbers with him in his office, and twelve months was a solid projection. For years now, Arthur had been holding on to that lot on the outskirts of town for him. It was one of a handful of shrewd real estate investments he’d made decades ago. He’d been slowly selling off the rest of his plots as Blue Cedar Falls had grown and tourism had boomed, but not that one. It made Devin’s throat tight, just thinking about it. The guy had so much faith in him.
Sure, he’d also somehow gotten Devin to commit to mustering up a volunteer squad from Meyer Construction to serve Sunday supper at Harvest Home—some church group had apparently made the finals in a choral competition and had to pull out at the last minute. But that was just more evidence of how much he trusted Devin.
Well, Devin was going to show him that he’d put his faith in the right man. He’d get enough guys from work to show up on Sunday—no problem. And twelve months from now, he’d make good on his promise to buy those undeveloped acres.
His own land, away from the crappy apartments where he’d grown up. Someplace quiet just for him, no nosy roommates or noisy neighbors upstairs. A home he’d build with his own two hands.
Just don’t screw it up, a voice in his head whispered.
Devin bit the inside of his cheek. Ignoring the doubt in the back of his mind, he reached for his beer and took a good swig.
“How’re you boys doing?” Zoe appeared at the side of their table in the corner. Heaven help him. She’d put on some lipstick or something since he’d seen her at Harvest Home. He couldn’t stop looking at her red mouth, and his best friend was going tomurder him. Oblivious, Zoe glanced between the both of them. “Y’all ready for another round?”
Devin drained the last gulp from his glass and thunked it down in front of her. “Sure am.”
“Awesome.”
Devin should probably be pacing himself. He had an early shift in the morning. But he was celebrating. Letting loose for one night wouldn’t hurt.
